This is definitely Shearwater’s biggest and loudest record—it’s easy to imagine these songs roaring from the stage—but it’s also their most detailed and intricate one. Frontman Jonathan Meiburg and producer/engineer Reisch (who also recorded 2012’s Animal Joy and the off-the-cuff collaborations of 2014’s Fellow Travelers) spent two years crafting Jet Plane and Oxbow with help from drummer Cully Symington, longtime Shearwater associates Howard Draper and Lucas Oswald, and tour mates Jesca Hoop, Abram Shook, and Jenn Wasner.

But their secret weapon this time is film composer and percussionist Brian Reitzell, whose soundtracks include The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation, The Bling Ring, and 30 Days of Night. Reitzell’s arsenal of strange instruments emphasizes Jet Plane and Oxbow’s cinematic depth and scope, and reflects the band’s choice to anchor the record in the era when digital technology was just beginning to transform the world of recorded music. In Shearwater’s hands this doesn’t feel like nostalgia; the racing synths and hammered dulcimers of heart-pounding opener “Prime” or the addled motorik of “Radio Silence” sound more like a metaphor for our own bewildering moment. (For a full bio, along with a conversation between famed music journalist Michael Azerrad & Shearwater frontman Meiburg, read here).

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Bundle this record and save money!

This is definitely Shearwater’s biggest and loudest record—it’s easy to imagine these songs roaring from the stage—but it’s also their most detailed and intricate one. Frontman Jonathan Meiburg and producer/engineer Reisch (who also recorded 2012’s Animal Joy and the off-the-cuff collaborations of 2014’s Fellow Travelers) spent two years crafting Jet Plane and Oxbow with help from drummer Cully Symington, longtime Shearwater associates Howard Draper and Lucas Oswald, and tour mates Jesca Hoop, Abram Shook, and Jenn Wasner.

But their secret weapon this time is film composer and percussionist Brian Reitzell, whose soundtracks include The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation, The Bling Ring, and 30 Days of Night. Reitzell’s arsenal of strange instruments emphasizes Jet Plane and Oxbow’s cinematic depth and scope, and reflects the band’s choice to anchor the record in the era when digital technology was just beginning to transform the world of recorded music. In Shearwater’s hands this doesn’t feel like nostalgia; the racing synths and hammered dulcimers of heart-pounding opener “Prime” or the addled motorik of “Radio Silence” sound more like a metaphor for our own bewildering moment. (For a full bio, along with a conversation between famed music journalist Michael Azerrad & Shearwater frontman Meiburg, read here).

Tracks

Videos

Pre-order History

-All pre-orders for the LP version of the album will receive 2-tone Blue colored Loser edition vinyl while supplies last. Loser edition will be available during pre-order until these words are crossed out!LOSER EDITION IS SOLD OUT! 01/26/16

- If you pre-order Shearwater’s Jet Plane and Oxbow, not only can you stream the album up to one (1) month early, you can join frontman Jonathan Meiburg on an expedition. Pre-orders come with an exclusive Shearwater podcast, “Headwaters”, which features demos and outtakes from the new record and a conversation between Meiburg and WNYC’s John Schaefer (host of “New Sounds”). Along the way, Meiburg and Schaefer discuss the ideas and influences that fed the new album, the fearsome teeth of the vampire fish, the search for a mythical bird, Bowie’s “social protest” music, and the last days of Lawrence of Arabia—as well as recordings JM made earlier this year of howler monkeys, musician wrens, and other strange creatures in remote parts of Guyana and Brazil.

-All pre-orders will also receive an instant download of the track, “Quiet Americans”, as well as any other downloads as they are made available prior to the album release date, which will be available from your SubPop.com account as they are added.